Microsoft releases new updates citing “elevated cyber attack risk”

In wake of the increasing risks of cyber attack across the globe, Microsoft has released several critical security updates to provide protection against widespread hacking, citing an "elevated risk of cyber attacks."

These programming could even help to prevent another global ransomware outbreak like WannaCry. (Reuters)

In wake of the increasing risks of cyber attack across the globe, Microsoft has released several critical security updates to provide protection against widespread hacking, citing an “elevated risk of cyber attacks.” “In reviewing the updates for this month, some vulnerabilities were identified that pose elevated risk of cyber attacks by government organizations, sometimes referred to as nation-state actors or other copycat organizations,” reported CNN quoting General Manager of Microsoft’s Cyber Defense Operations Center, Adrienne Hall.

These programming could even help to prevent another global ransomware outbreak like WannaCry. It is yet unclear whether Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) has been warned of another cyber attack similar to that of WannaCry. A Microsoft spokesperson said that the security teams are actively monitoring cyber threats, and the decision to release the updates is “an exception based on the current threat landscape and the potential impact to customers and their businesses.”

The recent security update which was released on Tuesday includes patches to its Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Server 2003 products, which are unsupported but still widely-used. The updates will be automatically available for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 and Windows Server releases after 2008 and the patches have to be manually installed. Apart from this, the Microsoft suggests customers enable Windows Update if they haven’t already.

Earlier, the report surfaced that the hackers working under the name of WannaCry malware, the name that shook 150 countries by hacking their major websites, are likely to originate from the southern mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan or Singapore. As per forensic linguistic analysis on the malware, it was revealed that it was written by native Chinese speaking people, according to the South China Morning Post.

However, earlier reports had suggested hackers being from North Korea. The WannaCry malware hacked crucial data and in return asked a ransom for its restoration. As per reports, the hackers drafted the note in Chinese and then based on it, produced an English version. Later, it was converted into other languages with the help of Google’s Translate feature.

The report further says that the typo in the note, bang zhu (which means ‘help) signifies that the note was originally written using a Chinese-language input system instead of being translated from some other language. The WannaCry ransomware attack hit more than 200,000 computers in 150 countries, crippling hospitals, governments and businesses.